Phenom pitcher in Japan baseball
doubledragon
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These stories are always fun, his name is Roki Sasaki and he threw the first perfect game in 28 years in the Nippon League and threw 17 consecutive perfect innings, I believe he has a 101 mph fastball as well.
Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki, 20, extends streak to 17 consecutive perfect innings
How do you improve on perfection? Roki Sasaki is doing his best to find out.
In his first start since throwing the first perfect game in Nippon Professional Baseball since 1994, Sasaki, 20, almost did it again for the Chiba Lotte Marines, as he was pulled after eight perfect innings in a 1-0 loss to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters on Sunday.
The right-hander amassed 14 strikeouts before he was pulled from a scoreless game after throwing 102 pitches. Of note: He was taken out after he struck out the side in the eighth inning with his pitches reportedly still reaching 101 mph.
Sasaki hasn't allowed an opposing hitter to reach base in an NPB-record 52 consecutive plate appearances.
Through four starts this season, Sasaki has a 1.16 ERA, 56 strikeouts and has allowed seven hits and two walks in 31 innings pitched.
"He [Sasaki] is just too tough," said Chusei Mannami, whose game-winning home run -- the Fighters' only hit of the game -- came in the 10th inning off the third Marines pitcher. "The way that forkball drops? Forget about it."
In his last start, Sasaki tied an NPB record with his 19 strikeouts against the Orix Buffaloes as he completed just the 16th perfect game in league history. He also struck out 13 consecutive batters, a record in Japanese pro baseball, according to Kyodo News.
Sasaki rose to prominence as a high school pitcher thanks to his high-velocity fastball and reportedly drew widespread interest from Major League Baseball teams before signing with Chiba Lotte in 2020 at age 18.
Comments
Here is a video of him pitching.
Wow. Just wow. I was curious so I decided to poke around on ebay, and he already has Topps cards.
These Topps chrome cards are going for over $100, if you want one you best hurry, because they're selling like hotcakes!
Will he be headed this way in the future?
That's what I'm wondering about, of course it will be more difficult in MLB, he'll have to fight harder for every strike, but it will be an entertaining fight, just like Lt. Dan vs God!
3 outs to go for two consecutive perfect games? That's beyond Johnny Vandemeer territory. Game tied 0-0 after nine. That's adding Harvey Haddix territory to it. Who the double HHell pulled him from the game?
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Ralph
Just wait a bit before we fit him for a jacket. Film and adjustments
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.